SGU: Reunion
by P.J. Lowry
Summary: (Sequel to Ascension) Coming off a scandal and demotion in rank, John Sheppard is offered a second chance by the SGC: lead a team through the Langara Gate on a one way mission to Destiny.
1. Chapter 1

It was unlike them to be summoned without an explanation, especially when you consider the trip they had to make to be at Stargate Command. While it didn't take too long to ride a puddle jumper from the moon colony, it was still a pain in the ass. The moon colony, formerly known as Atlantis, was an enormous responsibility and while Stargate Command was making a bundle using one of the wings for tourism, it was something a lot of the military personal on board didn't like very much. It was something Congress had insisted on to offset budget woes that Stargate Command had cost them since the first gate was dug up a few decades ago. Still, whatever the General had called them down for had to be important. The two men sat there, at the large conference table waiting for the meeting to begin.

"I don't get this," one of the two men started, "Why us? Did we do something wrong?"

"I'm not sure, Rodney." The other man replied, "But I understand what you're saying. I also feel like I've been called to principal's office."

"Maybe for being the Captain Kirk of the moon," Rodney replied, "Apparently no female tourist can resist the charm of John Sheppard."

"That was one guest, McKay." John answered, "And in my defense, I met her on Earth months before that happened. That was the whole reason why she came up to the moon to visit."

"Well, all it took was one facebook post and boom; instant scandal and demotion." Rodney said, reliving the nightmare. "That was a complete PR disaster for our project!"

"Don't remind me," John said, thinking about it. "I learned my lesson."

"That would be a first," a voice called out.

The two men jumped to their feet and saluted as Brigadier General Samantha Carter strolled into the conference room. She strolled up to the opposite side of the table and dropped a file folder down. "At ease, gentlemen."

As the two men sat down, she remained standing.

"I don't mean to be rude or out of line, General." Sheppard started, "But why the secrecy? What mission would require us all to come out here?"

"We're here to discuss the Destiny, Col. Sheppard." Carter answered, "The time has come to reach out and help our people."

"How do we intend to do that?" Sheppard inquired.

"We're going to use the gate on Langara to dial out." She answered.

"Hold up," McKay interrupted, "We can't do that! Not without risking destruction of the entire planet!"

"I'm well aware of that McKay," Carter replied.

"Something's changed." Sheppard said, knowing they wouldn't be called down if the gridlock with Langara was still ongoing.

"Yes," Carter confirmed, sitting down. "Over a year ago, Langara core began to naturally destabilize. So after intense and very brief negotiations, Langara has been relocating their people to a new planet. They will finish evacuating the population in about three weeks. Since the plant is near collapse, this has become a case of use it or lose it. This might be our last chance to reach out to Destiny."

"What if Destiny is still powered down and traveling to the next universe?" McKay asked, curious about the worst case scenario, "Gating over could suck out all the remaining power and leave the ship lifeless in space."

"We've already thought about that," Samantha informed him, "When Eli came to visit us, he took one of the Zed-PMs."

"Please, don't remind me of that." Rodney said, unwilling to remember.

"He did return it, Rodney!" Sheppard reminded him, "Fully charged too!"

"He also told us that he repaired the engine, and used the Zed-PM to fuel the ship so it would have enough juice to make it." Samantha continued, "It's been three and a half years since Destiny started that journey. If all went well, the crew should already be awake and carrying on. If the ship is crippled, Rodney is going to take one of the moon colony's Zed-PMs with him to re-power the ship and get it back on course. If they made it to the other side already, the mission is to resupply Destiny with new supplies and reinforcements."

"So," Rodney said, standing up, "You brought me here to take away one of my Zed-PMs to help Destiny again?"

"Well, yes," Samantha confirmed, "But that wasn't the only reason."

"What else do you want from us?" Rodney asked.

"She wants us to command the team." Sheppard replied, "One way trip to the Destiny, just like we did to Atlantis all those year ago."

"You've got to be kidding me!" McKay replied, shocked at the mere suggestion.

"You're the perfect candidates." Samantha concurred, "You've done this before with great success in Atlantis. I thought you would be looking for some real action John, especially after your recent demotion."

John felt uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat. "We were a lot younger back then. I'm not sure I want to do it again."

"And why me?" McKay called out.

"If the ship is crippled," Carter replied, "There no one would have a better chance of saving the day than you, Rodney. As much as we'd hate to lose you here, Destiny might need you more. Eli has ascended, which means he's dead. Once the crew realizes that, they'll need help with the ship."

"You think I'm so desperate to get away from the scandal that I'll go on a one way trip to the other end of the universe?" John asked.

"No," Samantha answered, "I'm hoping that you guys are itching for a mission; an opportunity to do something either than babysit a bunch of tourists.

"Well, she has a point there." McKay agreed.

John paused for a moment, "How many people are do you intend to send to Destiny?"

"Forty," Carter answered, "Enough to run the ship if they have to, but not too many to cause a supply problem with the crew already there."

"Do Rodney and I get to hand pick our team?" John inquired.

"Yes, and no." Carter cryptically replied, "You can only take people from Earth, which means Ronon and Teyla are not permitted. I doubt they'd be willing to leave their families behind anyway."

"Good point," Sheppard said, remember what his former team was up to. "What if I needed someone off world who has no family to leave behind?"

"Who were you thinking of?" Sam asked.

"Jonas Quinn," John replied, "As good as Rodney is, I don't think he should be alone to maintain something as massive as Destiny by himself."

"I'll try to get in contact with him," Carter said as she scribbled down a note. "Like yourself, he has to volunteer for the job."

"I understand," John said, sitting up in his chair, "Why haven't you spoken to Telford about this?"

"Based on what I read in the mission reports, he conflicted greatly with the current crew of Destiny," Carter said, "Stargate Command was hoping your charm and friendly nature will cause less friction if the crew is already awake."

"Cough! Kirk! Cough!" Rodney said, pretending to choke on something.

"I get final approval on who goes through that gate." Sheppard said, clearing warming up to the idea of a new mission, "I also want to make sure we bring confectionery with us, not just arms and food supplies. That will boost morale and make our integration a little less stressful."

"What kind of confectionery did you have in mind?" Sam asked.

"Letters from home," John suggested, "Junk food, a few new seasons of their favorite shows on DVD, a copy of the Force Awakens..."

"I wasn't that impressed," Rodney interrupted, "Felt more like a reboot..."

"Enough," Sam said, "We'll work something out. Do I take it that this means you're accepting the mission, Sheppard?"

John sat there and pondered the question. As much as he wanted to stay close to home and think about retirement, there was a part of him that as Sam mentioned that was yearning to get back out there. "All right, I accept the mission. But I'm in charge, everyone on the team answers to me."

"Even me?" McKay squealed.

"Especially you," Sheppard confirmed.

"I accept your terms," Sam said as she pulled out a few pads of paper, "Write down names of people you'd like to take on this mission with you. If approved by myself and Command, we'll bring them here to speak with us."

"Too bad Zelenak's not available." John commented, "Your fights would have been good for morale as well."

"Oh please," McKay replied, looking away.

"Rodney," Sam called from across the table.

"Yes?" Rodney replied.

"Eyes up here," she calmly informed him.

"I wasn't!" McKay squealed.

John couldn't help but laugh.

Sam stood up to leave. "I'll take a look at your lists later. In the meantime, I'm going to brief the President about Langara. We're going to leave in less than three weeks so I suggest you pack quickly. We need to get out there before the planet destroys the only gate we have to dial Destiny. Let's not blow this one."

The two men stood up.

After Samantha walked out of the room, McKay was still red with embarrassment.

"I wasn't!" he said again.

"I know," John said to him, "She was yanking your chain."

"Oh," McKay said as he sat back down, "ha ha."


	2. Chapter 2

Things on board Destiny has been pretty mellow for the past several months. Even Rush was getting along with everyone, which was the biggest surprise. It left a lot of the crew members to sarcastically comment that all Rush just needed a few years rest to mellow out. Despite the real reason for his change of heart, Rush had much more incentive to behave and was determined to be a better crew mate for everyone. His renewed friendship with Eli was truly what turned things around, and Rush was committed to no longer challenge command nor try to take over the ship for himself. He was eager to get along with people this time, especially after he was warned that the ancients were watching him. Yet more than anything Rush was excited of the idea that he could ascend and see his wife again, more than enough incentive for him to be a good boy. Col. Young was on the bridge with Rush when something occurred, catching them by surprise.

"What's going on, Rush?" Young asked him.

"The gate," Rush said, looking back at Young. "Someone's dialing in!"

Young hopped out of the chair he was sitting in, and picked activated his radio. "All military personnel to the gate room, we have someone dialing in!"

Every soldier in the ship not only scrambled to the gate room, but they were armed, and taking a strategic position in the gate room to possibly fend off boarders like they did the last time someone dialed in. Once the gate was open, all the soldiers watching tensed up, and waiting to see what happened. At first just one man walked through with his hands raised up, as if he was expecting to get a warm welcome.

"Hold your fire!" he called out, "I come in peace!"

"Hold your fire!" Young said as he stepped up, "I think I know that voice. Identify yourself!"

"Colonel John Sheppard," the man called out, "We don't have much time, I'd like permission to bring the rest of my convoy through."

"What kind of convoy?" Young called out.

"Supply convoy." John called back.

"Proceed!" Greer called out, surprising Young. "What? I want new supplies."

Young and the other soldiers watched, as massive motorized vehicles rolled through the gate and on board destiny. There were at least a dozen of these vehicles which were at the moment carrying a lot of boxes and crates. There also more people, as forty more armored troops walked through the gate, all wearing suits with their own oxygen supply in case there was no air to breath. Once all the vehicles and the people were on board. One of the men ran over to the control panel and disconnected the connection to the other world, dissolving the gate.

"Hey!" Young called out, "Couldn't we send people back?"

"We just came from Langara," Sheppard called out, "Or what's left of it."

"What's left of it?" Rush repeated as he stepped forward.

Mckay removed his helmet. "The planet's core was destabilizing."

"Doctor McKay," Young said, surprised to see him.

"The planet was on the verge of collapsing," Rodney continued, "We waited until the last possible moment before going through. Langara is breaking apart as we speak, and we knew using the gate would have accelerated the process."

"So since the planet was already on its way out," John explained, "We got one chance to use the gate and only one. Our orders were to bring re-reinforcements and fresh supplies. We figured you were running low on rations."

"Seriously?" Greer called back, "More rations?"

"Relax," John said, with his boyish grin. "The military has made vast improvements and I also insisted we bring confectionery as well to boost morale."

"How many souls did you add to our crew?" Young asked.

"Forty," Sheppard replied.

"We don't have enough rooms," Rush informed him.

"We're used to bunking up," John replied, "We'll double and even triple up the military rooms before we encroach on your privacy, doctor."

"Hey," a voice called out, "What's the big deal out here?"

Now it was Sheppard and McKay's turn to be surprised as Eli came walking out in his usual red shirt and jeans. He was no longer wearing the Jedi like garb of the ancients, and he also looked alive and well.

"Eli?" John said, looking at him. "How?"

"The ancients," Rush answered, "They're still untrusting after what Dr. Jackson did during his time there."

"They're still mad about that?" Rodney asked.

"It appears so," Rush confirmed. "So what did you bring us?"

"We brought as much as we could," John said, gesturing to the small vehicles, "We also thought these would help you cover more ground when you go through the gate to explore."

"Do they run on unleaded?" Greer asked, checking one of them out.

"Nope," McKay replied, "Totally electric and since Destiny is solar, was can use the ship to recharge them whenever you return."

"I'm not comfortable with more military on the ship," Rush hissed.

"Not everyone here are soldiers," John corrected him, "Only twenty-five of us are actual grunts. The rest are in other branches like medical and sciences. For example, we brought two doctors and two nurses with us to expand your medical services. I'm sure she's done a great job, but TJ doesn't have to do all the work herself now. One of our doctors is a skilled surgeon. This expands our ability to treat crew members of more serious ailments. We also brought engineers to assist you and Eli with the ship."

"We don't need help," Eli said, confident in his abilities.

"We didn't know you were alive," McKay replied, "So Jonas and I are here to help out."

"I also brought people to boost morale," John explained, "That guy over there is one is the best chef the military has, and I also brought a psychiatrist. General Carter had insisted on that one. Sorry."

"No need to apologize," Young replied, "I can admit it would be nice to have someone professional to speak with. We've been through a lot."

"We also brought letters and videos from home for everyone." McKay added.

"We tried to bring as much as these buggies could carry." John continued, "I even smuggled some stuff in behind the general's back, like a few bottles of Crown."

"Very nice," Young said, surprised that John had remembered his favorite whiskey. "Welcome aboard."

"We're not here to mess with your system," John explained, "We're the same rank, and since you've been here longer than I have... that makes you the ranking officer on board. We're here to help the ship, not rock it."

"This is good news," Rush said, looking around. "New toys, new supplies, but a larger crew."

"A larger crew means shorter shifts," Young countered, "It means we can get more sleep and not stretch ourselves so thin. That will help morale as well."

"The general's thoughts exactly," John confirmed, "We know you took some losses and with new numbers, we can tackle what the next galaxy brings you together."

"If you don't mind," One of the men said as he walked up to Sheppard and Young, "The medical crew would like to be shown to sick bay."

"Of course," Young said, "Greer, show these people to medical. Brief TJ on who these people are. I'm sure she'll be happy to have more help."

"Yes, Sir." Greer said, looking over at the medical officers. "This way."

As the medical staff left with Greer, Young turned back to Sheppard and McKay. "Sensing by your surprise, I take it you're aware of what happened to Eli."

"We are," Sheppard confirmed, "Eli actually visited us on the moon base to burrow one of our Zed PMs."

"Yes, that was fun." McKay reminisced.

"We haven't made it public what happened to him," Young informed them. "We would prefer you keep that Intel from the rest of the crew, as only a small group of us are aware of what really happened. We told everyone else that Eli repaired the pod and slept with us for three years."

"Understood," Sheppard said, nodding. "We'll keep that classified. Rodney and I are the only members of the new personnel who are aware of it, and that's only because we saw him when jumping from world to world. His ascension is top secret on Earth as well."

"Good to hear," Young said.

"Have you had any resistance since you entered this galaxy?" McKay inquired.

"Not yet, but it's only been a few months." Young replied, "We've been cautious with the personnel and tools we had, but this is bound to help out."

"You have no idea," Sheppard said, gesturing to one of the vehicles. "You're going to love some of the new toys we brought along."


	3. Chapter 3

News of the new arrivals spread quickly through out the ship. While Camile was not fond of new troops on board, she was pleased to see not all of their new passengers were soldiers. TJ was ecstatic to see new medical personnel, especially when she learned that one of the doctors was taken from a medical school and was going to provide her with formal medical training. He was also willing to teach any other members of the crew that wanted to volunteer in order to have as many medical personnel on the ship as possible. Yet it was when John Sheppard started to show the crew of Destiny the really amazing new toys that impressed everyone. While the new crew members were being shown to their quarters, John decided to show Colonel Young's soldiers from the original Destiny crew some of the weapons they had brought along to aid in the success of their mission. The first thing he showed the soldiers that were watching was a small hand held device that looked like a coiled snake.

"That looks familiar." Young asked. "I think I remember seeing something like that in one of the dossiers I read right after I joined the Stargate program."

"This is called a Zat'nik'tel." Sheppard said, holding it up for all the troops present to see. "But we all call it Zat-gun. This is a tool that was created by the Goa'uld and has been one of the best toys we inherited from them."

"What makes it so special?" Greer asked.

Sheppard responded to Greers question by pointing the Zat-gun at him. As he squeezed the bottom of the weapon the top part expanded a bit before firing a white electrical charge from the mouth of the weapon. The shot hit Greer and he fell to the floor and started to spasm as if he had been hit with a taser.

"One shot from the Zat-gun stuns your target," John informed everyone, who continued to watch Greer twitch. "If you hit them with a second shot, it will be a kill shot as your target will not survive."

"Impressive," Young said, "But I'd recommend asking for volunteers before testing a weapon next time."

"Duly noted," John said, smiling. "The best part is this weapon doesn't have to be reloaded. It just needs a few seconds to power up a new charge."

"That will help us conserve ammo," Young concurred, "How many did you bring?"

"Thirty-five," John replied, "You have the Teal'c and the Tok'ra to thank for this. We're going to use these for missions only and even then be sparing with them. General Carter called in a lot of markers to secure these and the staffs."

"The staffs?" Young asked, "You brought Jaffar staffs on board?"

"We managed to salvage a few from our stash in Area 51," John answered, "We couldn't take them all. Area 51 kept a lot of them because they're trying to reverse engineer them, which is a good idea. I suggest we leave these on board, and reserve them for defense of the ship."

"Not a bad idea," Young concurred.

"What about that one," Greer said, pointing to a gun that was holstered to John's right leg. "Where did you get that bad boy?"

"This was given to me by a friend," John said, patting the sidearm. "It's called a particle magnum. Ronan wasn't using it anymore, so gave it to me knowing that it would see a lot more action out here."

"That's a good friend," Young observed.

"Trust me, I wish he came with us." John added, "He was one of the best people we had on Atlantis."

"Is this all the alien tech you brought with you?" Young asked.

"No," John replied, "But the last piece is for your eyes only."

"Nuff said," Young said, turning to the rest of the people from his crew. "Everyone dismissed. Let's get back to work."

The two colonels watched as the rest of the troops walked away, and then Young turned back to John.

"You need to tell me everything you brought with you," Young started, "No surprises here, John."

"The only person who knows I brought these on board is General Carter," John said as he walked over to another truck, "I prefer we be the only ones onboard who know about these until they're absolutely necessary."

"That's sounds very ominous," Young observed as he followed Sheppard.

"Sorry about that, Colonel." John said as he walked over to one of the vehicles that came through the gate.

Colonel Sheppard used his own thumb print to open one of the crates. It was the only crate to have that kind of fingerprint scanner. Young looked inside the crate and there was what looked like a body lying down inside it.

"What the hell is that?" Young asked.

"This is an armored exoskeleton." John replied, "The General informed me that these are only to be used in cases of extreme emergencies."

"Whose technology is this?" Young inquired, "I've never seen anything like it."

"We recovered them from a group of people known as the Vanir," John continued, "They were a group of Asguards that were broken away from their home world. These suits can take a beating and then some. We don't know how they're charged but when they run out of power, it will Rodney's job to figure out a way to hook them up to Destiny to use its solar batteries to recharge them."

"How many of these skeletons do we have?" Young asked.

"Three," John answered, "These things are to be kept on the down low. Do you know where we can stash these away from everyone else?"

"I have an idea," Young said, "I'll ask Eli. He now knows this ship like the back of his hand. We might have to let him in on it if you're okay with that."

"Only if he asks." John replied, "If he doesn't ask, you don't tell."

"Why are you bringing these on board Destiny?" Young asked.

"I shouldn't have to explain," John said, "No one knows what's waiting in the next galaxy, I'm just trying to make sure we have enough to survive. This is my way of preparing for anything. If we never have to use these, I'll be very relieved but I'll sleep a little easier knowing I did my best to help prepare us for the unknown."

"Fair enough," Young said as he paused for a moment. "I'd also like to thank you and General for something."

"What would that be?" John responded.

"For not bringing Telford with you," Young replied, "Did he ask to be a part of this mission?"

"Indeed he did," Sheppard replied, "And based on the issues he had on board this ship, the General thought it would be best if he didn't tag along. We thought new blood would minimize conflict with our integration. I also heard Eli made some improvements with the ship."

"He did," Young said, as he watched John close the case and secure the exoskeleton. "Care for the nickel tour?"

"Lead the way, Colonel." John said, as he was eager to look around.

The two men continued to talk about the mission as they left the gate room and started to wander around the ship.


End file.
